Key cancer waiting time targets have been missed for the first time as the NHS
struggles with huge increases in referrals, it has been admitted

Thousands of women with symptoms of breast cancer are being forced to wait before seeing a specialist after the NHS admitted it is breaching a key target for the first time.

Cancer patients are also having to wait too long before starting treatment as a second target is being breached for the second quarter in a row, statistics have revealed.

Critics say the failure to meet the targets show the NHS is struggling to cope with the growing pressure that rising numbers of cancer patients and better screening is placing on the health service.

An NHS task force is now being set up to investigate the causes of the problems and what can be done about it.

Waiting times targets requires 85 per cent of patients should start treatment for their cancer within 62 days of an urgent referral by their GP for suspected cancer. In the first quarter of 2014/15 it was 84.1 per cent.

This target was breached in the last quarter of 2013/14 as well, which was the first time ever.

In addition, 93 per cent of women with breast symptoms, not initially thought to be cancer, should be seen by a specialist within two weeks of their GP referring them.

In quarter one of this year it was 90.3 per cent. This was a substantial drop from the 95.4 per cent seen in the same period the year before.

The figures come after Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, warned that waiting times for planned operations would get worse as the NHS tackles a backlog of people who have been waiting for up to a year.

Many experts have said the NHS is struggling to cope with financial cutbacks and that patient care would suffer.

Other targets on waiting times from diagnosis to treatment and the overall target that 93 per cent of patients sent by their GP with suspected cancer be seen within two weeks were met but by smaller margins than in the past.

However NHS England said that the numbers of patients being referred with cancer symptoms is increasing fast, with an 18 per cent rise in the last year alone.

In 2013/14 there were more than 1.3m people referred urgently compared with just over 1m in 2010/11.

Mike Hobday, director of policy and research at Macmillan Cancer Support, said missing the targets was 'simply not good enough'.

“This shows that the current system simply isn’t working and people with cancer are being badly let down.

“The government has been very clear about its ambition to ensure cancer is diagnosed earlier and to improve the chances of surviving the disease across the country.

"However, these figures show that we’ve still got a long way to go. We have some of the poorest survival rates for cancer in Europe and Macmillan is calling on all the political parties to prioritise cancer ahead of the next general election.”

Sean Duffy, NHS England’s Clinical Director for Cancer, said: “It is really good news the number of patients being diagnosed and treated for cancer early is on the rise. We have been encouraging patients to step forward early and they are. We are now treating more people than ever before and as a result the NHS is helping more people than ever survive.

“Over the last five years we have seen a 51 per cent increase in the number of patients referred within two weeks for suspected cancer symptoms, which is good news for improving early diagnosis and survival.

“We continue to treat the vast majority of patients within a month of deciding treatment is needed, and it is imperative that we focus on maintaining waiting times standards as demand for care increases.”

Luciana Berger, shadow public health minister, responding to NHS England figures showing that the cancer waiting time target has been missed for the second successive quarter, said: “These figures are yet another warning sign that the NHS is heading in the wrong direction.

“David Cameron claimed his NHS reorganisation would improve cancer care. The reality is that he has in fact made it worse.

“Families across England are facing longer, agonising waits for treatment and experts are warning that lives will be put at risk.

“It is now clear that David Cameron's reorganisation has caused real damage to patient care. You can’t trust the Tories with the NHS.”